Artificial fish lure

ABSTRACT

An elongated lure body having a pivotal mounting for one end of a conventional hook shank, the shank being swingable through 90* or more between a retracted position adjacent to the lure body and parallel therewith and an extended position in which the hook is disposed well away from the lure body. Spring means is associated with the hook to bias the hook to the extended position. A spring-biased catch, is mounted on the lure body and has a locking bolt movable from a tensioned cocked position blocking the movement path of the shank and frictionally engaging the shank to a relaxed position wherein it is disengaged from the shank to permit outward swinging movement of its hook end to a fish-impaling position. Triggering of the catch is caused by a striking fish applying opposing pressures to the lure body which reduces the frictional pressure between the catch and shank to free the shank for swinging movement to the fish-impaling position.

United States Patent Zeman 5] Mar. 7, 1972 {54] ARTIFICIAL FISH LURE[72] Inventor: Jack R. Zeman, PO. Box 10, 167 Wilton Manor Branch, Ft.Lauderdale, Fla. 33305 [22] Filed: Feb. 27, 1970 21 Appl. No; 15,128

Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren Assistant Examiner-Daniel J. LeachAttorney-Ephraim Banning, [ll

[57] ABSTRACT An elongated lure body having a pivotal mounting for oneend of a conventional hook shank, the shank being swingable through 90or more between a retracted position adjacent to the lure body andparallel therewith and an extended position in which the hook isdisposed well away from the lure body. Spring means is associated withthe hook to bias the hook to the extended position. A spring-biasedcatch, is mounted on the lure body and has a locking bolt movable from atensioned cocked position blocking the movement path of the shank andfrictionaliy engaging the shank to a relaxed position wherein it isdisengaged from the shank to permit outward swinging movement of itshook end to a fish-impaling position. Trigger ing of the catch is causedby a striking fish applying opposing pressures to the lure body whichreduces the frictional pressure between the catch and shank to free theshank for swinging movement to the fish-impaling position.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAR 7 I972 3,646,699

1, INVENTOR. JACK R. ZEMAN FIG. 9 5

ATTOR Y ARTIFICIAL FlISl-ll LURE This invention relates to an artificialfish lure having a one piece body of conventional type, such as a plugor a spoon. To such a body is pivotally mounted the eye at one end ofthe shank of a conventional fishhook whereby its free hook end may swingout and away from the lure body to a fish-impaling position in responseto associated spring means. Normally, the shank is blocked from somoving by a spring catch which is advanced into the movement path of theshank. When and if the shank be pressed toward the body, as when a fishmouths the lure, opposite pressures from the fish jaws then cause atriggering of the catch whereby to release the shank for a fast outwardswinging movement of its hook end portion. Its hook is then advanced toa fish-impaling position to facilitate capture of the fish. Triggeringof the catch is very sensitive and reliable, requiring only lightopposite pressures to be applied by an impaled fish. It is largely theshank-catch relationship, their construction and their operation, whichassures the release of the shank to its fish-impaling position inresponse to mouthing of the lure, which constitutes the principalfeature of this invention.

In the description to follow, reference is made to two kinds of lures,one of the plug type and the other of the spoon type, each beingequipped with the hookcatch mechanism of this invention. Illustrationsthereof, embodying the present invention, are contained in theaccompanying drawing wherein FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a plug-typeof bait in which the barbed hook is shown in its retracted positionready to spring out in response to the strike of a fish;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the front end thereof;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section therethrough, taken on line 33 of FIG.2, the catch being shown in hook-engaging position;

FIG. 4 is a similar view, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1, showing indotted lines the position of the catch when sprung to hook-disengagingposition; I

FIG. 5 which is a view similar to FIG. 1 shows the barbed hook endportion of the shank sprung out to fish-impaling position following itsdisengagement from the catch;

FIG. 6 is a perspective exploded view of the shank and the triggeroperating means therefor;

FIG. 7 is a bottom (or top) elevational view of a spoon type ofone-piece lure body embodyingthe hook-catch mechanism elsewhere shown;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through the lure of FIG. 7, taken online 8-8 thereof, showing in elevation the shank in its retractedposition and, in dotted lines, the hook in fish-impaling position andthe biasing means for the shank; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view, transversely of the lure of FIG. 7, taken online 99 thereof.

The plug type of lure, shown in FIGS. 1-6, will first be considered. Itselongated one-piece body B may be conventionally contoured with an eye10 affixed to its forward end for attachment thereto of the usual line11. Formed in such a body, and open along its bottom, is an elongatedchamber 0 closed by a wall 12 at its forward end. Extending crosswisethrough the chamber, near this wall, is a pivot pin 14 which traversesthe spaced lure walls on opposite sides of the chamber. Heads 16 areformed at opposite ends of this pin to engage external faces of thebody, whereby to lock the pin axially in place.

A fishhook having a shank S is provided with an eye 17 at one end toreceive the pin 14, and at its other end with a curved portion extendingthrough 180 or so to form a barbed hook it. The hook is pointed at 18 toface in a forward direction. Such a shank with barbed hook at one end isentire- Iy conventional. Its pivotal mounting on the pin 14 permits itto swing upwardly to a position within the chamber 0 with only thebarbed pointed end of the hook h remaining exteriorly thereof. This hookend portion, which is usually straight for a short distance, is thenslightly spaced away from the bottom of the lure body and substantiallyparallel therewith.

A biasing means for the shank is also provided. This may consist of aspring wire which is bent upon itself to form a loop 20 from whichextends a pair of arms 21 provided with two sets of side-by-side coaxialcoils 22 to receive therethrough the pin 14. Beyond the two sets ofcoils the arms are extended forwardly in the form of parallel limbs 23which are adapted to engage the chamber roof 24. Between the two sets ofcoils 22 is fitted the shank eye 17 whereby to complete the pivotalmounting therefor. The looped and 20 of this spring traverses themovement path of the shank and engages the shank. With the spring limbs23 engaging the chamber roof 24 and the spring loop 20 engaging theshank at a point well removed from its pivotal mounting, a tension forceof considerable magnitude is created, tending to swing the shank andhook outwardly and away from the lure body.

To control all such movements, a releasable catch C is employed. In atensioned state it acts to restrain the shank S and hook h from swingingaway from the lure body in response to its own biasing means, then in acondition of maximum tension. In the form shown, this catch C, also ofspring wire, is provided at one end with a coil (or coils) 25terminating in a projecting tail 26. Through each coil (or coils) isextended an anchor pin which may be the pivot pin 14 or a separate pin28 disposed forwardly of the pivot pin. Heads 29 shown on such a pin areengageable with opposite faces of the body to lock this pin axially inplace and thereby the catch as well. The coil tail 26 engages fixedlywith the lure body adjacent the outer face of which the catch extendsrearwardly at 27 to a point op positely of two aligned guide openings 30which traverse opposite walls of the body. There the catch is bentthrough or so to form, in effect, a locking bolt 31 which is extendedcrosswise of the lure body to lie within the two guide openings where itis slidingly supported in a position which traverses the movement pathof the shank at a point well removed from its pivoted end. The catch isshown as doubled upon itself where the bolt is formed, thereby toprovide two contact points for simultaneous engagement with the underside of the shank when the latter is swung upwardly close to, butslightly spaced from, the chamber roof 24.

With a shank and bolt so formed and assembled, the shank will extendpast one side of the locking bolt (FIG. 3) to be frictionally engagedthereby and restrained from downwardly swinging movement in response toits own biasing means. This bolt which is movable axially of the twoguide openings 30 is itself biased sufficiently for the catch (of whichit is a part) to retract and move away from the shank, therebywithdrawing itself from the movement path of the latter, when free to doso. The only restraint to any such movement is provided by therelatively strong biasing force which holds the shank frictionallyagainst one side of the bolt with a sufficient pressure to normallyprevent any endwise movement thereof. Once this pressure engagementbetween the shank and catch be reduced or eliminated, any remainingfrictional contact of one with the other will no longer suffice torestrain movement of the shank thereafter. This is due to the latterssuperior biasing force which is then free to assert itself. As a result,the shank is released to execute a fast swinging movement downwardly andaway from the lure body to its fish-impaling position therebelow. Such apressure reduction or elimination normally takes place in response tovery moderate opposing pressures if applied to the lure body and to theshank hook end, as when a striking fish mouths the lure between its twojaws.

The restraint to shank movement provided by frictional engagement of thelocking bolt therewith is one which is very sensitive, thereby adaptingit peculiarly for use in a fishing lure, as already noted. The crosssection, form, and construction of the catch and its bolt may be variedconsiderably so long as lthe bolt is readily movable into and out of themovement path of the shank, and (2) the biasing force of the latter issufficiently strong to initiate movement of itself once its frictionalcontact with the catch is reduced. In its fish-impaling position, theshank will have swung outwardly and downwardly through 90 or more, to alimit stop provided by the end wall 12 of the chamber. The biasing forceof the spring arms 21 and limbs 23 need not remain effective throughoutall of this distance, but should be fully operative, when firsttriggered, to swing the shank outwardly, both promptly and rapidly. Theshank is free to separate form the looped end 20 of the catch (FIG. 3),but only after completion of its swing through an effective distancetending to impale a striking fish.

The lure of FIGS. 7-9 is much the same as the one already described. Theone difference, which is minor, is that its body B is of the spoon type,instead of a plug. Even so, the shank S, the catch C, and the mountingstherefor may be substantial duplicates for the two types of bodies.Accordingly, reference characters have been applied to parts in FIGS.7-9 the same as those applied to similar parts elsewhere in the drawing.The position of the lure body in FIGS. 7-9 is also the same as thatelsewhere illustrated, i.e., the shank and catch are disposed upon theunder side of the lure body so that in such position the relative termstop, bottom, etc., will carry the same meaning as in FIGS. 1-6. It maybe noted, moreover, that the illustrated position of the spoon bait is anormal one, although perhaps not the one most usual in practice.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 7-9, the spoon type of lure body B isconventional in that it is bowed upwardly endwise, and crowned upwardlycrosswise as by a wide angle 32 extending longitudinally between its twoends. The two sloping flat body sections thus provided define betweenthem a semienclosed space for accommodation of the shank S and catch C.As shown in FIG. 7, the perimetric contour of the elongated spoon bodyis tapered outwardly from its opposite ends to a medial point thereofwhere its width is greatest. The front end of the spoon body is eyed at10 for attachment of a line 11 thereto. Near its rear end a pair ofspaced ears 33 are depended from opposite sides of the spoon body tosupport between them a pivot pin 14 which traverses the eye 17 at oneend of the shank S to provide a mounting therefor. Biasing means forthis shank, the same as elsewhere described, exert a constant forcethereon, tending to swing it through 90 or more to a fish-impalingposition well below the spoon body.

The catch C may also be the same as the one already described. It isshown as a spring wire coiled at one end to fit around the pivot pin 14which is clamped by its head 16 against the proximate ear 33 so that itsforwardly extending portion 27 then lies exteriorly thereof and of thelure body along which it continues to a point oppositely of the shank inits forward end region. A pair of guide openings 30 are provided throughthe spoon bodyin a position to receive the bolt 31 which is laterallyextended from the catch at the forward end of its section 27. This boltextends through both openings 30 to be slidingly supported thereby whenthe catch is in cocked position (FIG. 3), and with capacity to withdrawtherefrom to a relaxed position, when triggered. Such a lure, whenmouthed by a striking fish, will be subjected to opposite pressures fromits two jaws whereby to or of eliminate the frictional resistance whichnormally holds the bolt in the movement path of the shank. With suchresistance reduced the bolt is triggered and the shank freedsimultaneously, the latter to execute a fast downward swinging movementto its fish-impaling position.

lclaim:

l. A fish lure of the kind wherein an elongated body is provided withline-attaching means near its front end and with a pivotal mounting forone end of a shank whose acting end portion is curved throughapproximately 180 into the form of a hook, the shank being swingablethrough a minimum of approximately 90" from a retracted cocked positionclose to the lure body to a fish-impaling position outwardly and awayfrom the lure body, spring-biasing means associated with the shank andengaging therewith to normally bias it for outward swinging movementthrough a fixed path whereby its acting end is shifted to afish-impaling position, and a catch mounted on the lure body and movablethrough aligned guide openings in the lure body into and out of themovement path of the shank, the shank being maintained in frictionalengagement with the catch in response to its own biasing means andadapted to exert a restraining force transversely of the catch tonormally hold the latter against movement from Its cocked position, a

relatively weak biasing means associated with the catch adapted toinitiate and complete a retracting movement of the catch in response toopposing pressures from the jaws of a striking fish upon the lure body,whereby the shank is than free to be sprung outwardly to the saidfish-impaling position.

2. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the catch comprises alocking bolt movable transversely through the said guide openings, thesaid guide openings tending to prevent bending of the bolt resultingfrom pressure from the shank applied transversely to the bolt whenengagement therebetween takes place.

3. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the biasing means forthe catch exerts a force of lesser magnitude than that applied to theshank, and wherein the movement paths of the shank and catch aredisposed transversely to each other the said guide openings providing afixed support on which the catch may rest when engaged by the shank.

4. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the lure body isprovided with a chamber open on its under side for accommodation of theshank and biasing means therefor to permit downward swinging movement ofthe shank within a vertical plane into and out of fish-impalingposition, and wherein the catch is elongated with one end affixed to aside of the body exteriorly thereof near its forward end and with itsopposite end formed to swing through a horizontal path.

5. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the catch is elongatedwith one end thereof affixed to the body exteriorly thereof, wherein theswinging movem ent path of the shank is in a vertical plane and that ofthe catch is in a horizontal plane, the latter underlying the shank whenin its retracted position, one of the guide openings providing a fixedsupport for the free end of the catch.

6. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the movement path ofthe shank is in a relatively vertical plane, the catch being elongatedwith one end thereof pivotally anchored to the body exteriorly thereofwith the opposite catch end being extended horizontally and transverselyof the body and wherein the biasing force for the shank exceeds that forthe catch whereby the former will free itself from the latter wheneverthe biasing force for the shank exceeds the frictional resistancetherebetween.

7. A fish lure having an elongated body mounting on its under side ahook whose shank portion is adapted to swing through a relativelyvertical movement path from a retracted position close to the lure bodyand away therefrom downwardly and around to a fish-impaling positiontherebelow, a catch mounted on the lure body for advancing an actingpart thereof through guide openings in the lure body defining arelatively horizontal path transversely of the movement path for theshank in a plane adjacent thereto and therebelow when the shank is inits retracted position, said guide openings providing fixed supportmeans whereon the acting part of the catch may slidably rest whenadvanced to a position below the shank, and separate biasing means forthe shank and catch, the former exerting a greater force than the latterwhereby the hook shank is urged downwardly against the catch to transmitthereto a controlled pressure force serving as a frictional brake torestrain sliding movements thereof between the shank and catch.

' UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF COEECTION Patent No. 3 646,699 V Dated March 7 1972 It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 3 line 51, "to or of eliminate" should read to reduce oreliminate Signed and sealed this 5th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSElALL DANN Atteeting Officer Commissloner ofPatents FORM PO-OSO 0-69) USCOMM-DC 60370-5 69 U S GDVERNHENY PRINTINGOFFICE: 869. 930

1. A fish lure of the kind wherein an elongated body is provided withline-attaching means near its front end and with a pivotal mounting forone end of a shank whose acting end portion is curved throughapproximately 180* into the form of a hook, the shank being swingablethrough a minimum of approximately 90* from a retracted cocked positionclose to the lure body to a fish-impaling position outwardly and awayfrom the lure body, spring-biasing means associated with the shank andengaging therewith to normally bias it for outward swinging movementthrough a fixed path whereby its acting end is shifted to a fishimpalingposition, and a catch mounted on the lure body and movable throughaligned guide openings in the lure body into and out of the movementpath of the shank, the shank being maintained in frictional engagementwith the catch in response to its own biasing means and adapted to exerta restraining force transversely of the catch to normally hold thelatter against movement from its cocked position, a relatively weakbiasing means associated with the catch adapted to initiate and completea retracting movement of the catch in response to opposing pressuresfrom the jaws of a striking fish upon the lure body, whereby the shankis then free to be sprung outwardly to the said fish-impaling position.2. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the catch comprises alocking bolt movable transversely through the said guide openings, thesaid guide openings tending to prevent bending of the bolt resultingfrom pressure from the shank applied transversely to the bolt whenengagement therebetween takes place.
 3. A fish lure, as specified inclaim 1, wherein the biasing means for the catch exerts a force oflesser magnitude than that applied to the shank, and wherein themovement paths of the shank and catch are disposed transversely to eachother the said guide openings providing a fixed support on which thecatch may rest when engaged by the shank.
 4. A fish lure, as specifiedin claim 1, wherein the lure body is provided with a chamber open on itsunder side for accommodation of the shank and biasing means therefor topermit downward swinging movement of the shank within a vertical planeinto and out of fish-impaling position, and wherein the catch iselongated with one end affixed to a side of the body exteriorly thereofnear its forward end and with its opposite end formed to swing through ahorizontal path.
 5. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein thecatch is elongated with one end thereof affixed to the body exteriorlythereof, wherein the swinging movement path of the shank is in avertical plane and that of the catch is in a horizontal plane, thelatter underlying the shank when in its retracted position, one of theguide openings providing a fixed support for the free end of the catch.6. A fish lure, as specified in claim 1, wherein the movement path ofthe shank is in a relatively vertical plane, the catch being elongatedwith one end thereof pivotally anchored to the body exteriorly thereofwith the opposite catch end being extended horizontally and transverselyof the body and wherein the biasing force for the shank exceeds that forthe catch whereby the former will free itself from the latter wheneverthe biasing force for the shank exceeds the frictional resistancetherebetween.
 7. A fish lure having an elongated body mounting on itsunder side a hook whose shank portion is adapted to swing through arelatively vertical movement path from a retracted position close to thelure body and away therefrom downwardly and around to a fish-impalingposition therebelow, a catch mounted on the lure body for advancing anacting part thereof through guide openings in the lure body defining arelatively horizontal path transversely of the movement path for theshank in a plane adjacent thereto and therebelow when the shank is inits retracted position, said guide openings providing fixed supportmeans whereon the acting part of the catch may slidably rest whenadvanced to a position below the shank, and separate biasing means forthe shank and catch, the former exerting a greater force than the latterwhereby the hook shank is urged downwardly against the catch to transmitthereto a controlled pressure force serving as a frictional brake torestrain sliding movements thereof between the shank and catch.